Fantasy Sports – Legit Or Scam?

Arguably one of the fastest-expanding sectors of online gambling in America or anywhere else in the world, these days Daily Fantasy Sports is an industry worth billions. As a fully legal and regulated online market, the vast majority of fantasy sports betting sites are 100 percent legit and safe to play on, but, as with any popular industry, you’ll always get a few bad apples trying to make a quick buck.

The following article will take a look at the success of daily fantasy sports betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings in recent years and explain precisely what it is that makes them reputable, while also explaining a few of the tell-tale signs that can help you spot a site looking to scam you out of money.

Looking for a Legit Fantasy Sports Site

In a nutshell, daily fantasy sports sites are only as good as their reputations. In order for a company to establish itself in this lucrative and highly-competitive market, it is vital that they gain good feedback from their players and steer clear of any legal issues involving prize payouts or user data.

As two of the market leaders, FanDuel and DraftKings have both built up a relationship of trust with the banks, the media and their customers – and both sites proudly display their list of legitimate business partners and security services on their home pages. With the former bragging about being featured in the Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated and the latter opting to display its certified 128 bit secure and PayPal verified badges, it’s instantly clear that both companies are the real deal.

Both FanDuel and DraftKings dish out annual prize funds that have grown year-on-year for some time now, and if there were any concerns over the legitimacy of either company, this expansion simply wouldn’t be possible. Remember, both of these sites regularly offer large guaranteed prize pool tournaments that they are legally obliged to pay whether the guarantees are met or not – and in order to do that, you need to have both the funds behind you and a healthy level of online traffic.

Look Out for Scam Sites

Having considered the above, it should be fairly obvious that the very things that make these sites good are the same things that can help you identify a scam site. If a fantasy sports betting site does not display the endorsements or logos of trusted partners and affiliates, it’s probably for good reason; namely, they can’t claim the backing of these companies because they don’t have it.

Furthermore, a quick scan of the tournament lobby should quickly give you enough information to draw some general conclusions about a suspected shady operator. What are the guaranteed prize pool contests being offered? If a prize pool is small compared to more established sites, there’s a good chance the operator can’t stick their neck out because they don’t have the funds to do so. Similarly, if scheduled leagues are regularly cancelled, this is indicative of the site having poor traffic.

With both liquidity and popularity being functions of reputation, if a site is unable to provide you with evidence of either there’s a good chance it’s dodgy. Furthermore, most established daily fantasy sports sites have an obvious social media presence (primarily through Twitter and Facebook), so if you’re looking at an operator that doesn’t engage with its customer base, it’s safe to assume it doesn’t for fear of negative feedback, and as they say, there’s no smoke without fire.

Use Your Common Sense

All in all, determining a legit daily fantasy sports site from a dodgy one is an exercise in common sense. If you were an operator with great security, strong testimonials and big money tournaments, wouldn’t you brag about these things on your homepage?

Exactly. When a daily fantasy site doesn't do this, it's usually because it can’t without making inaccurate (and illegal) claims, so always keep an eye out for sites that don’t show off their range of endorsements. If you’re still worried about the legitimacy of daily fantasy sports or have come across an operator that makes you suspicious, simply read our guide to the best places to play for a round-up of all the sites that are 100 percent fair and legal.

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